turquoise mine in the Atacama region of northern Chile, is one of the best
preserved examples of an Inca mining complex. It consists of six sites, including
a mine, an area for separating ore from waste rock, a place to load and unload
llamas, housing for workers, storage, and ritual platforms.
Inca mines usually consisted of open pits, although narrow tunnels that only
admitted a single individual at a time were also constructed. Ore was removed
using hafted stone axes and shovels and put into bags or baskets that were
dragged to the surface by the miner. The ore was then further separated from the
waste rock using hammerstones and anvils, often on a terrace adjacent to the
mine. Additional processing, including grinding, smelting, and refining, took
place at sites located at a distance from the mine. Smelting of both copper and
silver was conducted in huayrachinas. These small wind furnaces were made of
clay or cobbles and had holes pierced in their sides to allow the wind to stoke the
charge of fuel and ore. Huayrachinas were introduced to northern Chile prior to
the Inca conquest and were later extensively employed by the Incas. The final
production of metal objects probably took place in provincial centers or in Cuzco
itself as evidence for metalworking is absent from mining sites, with the
exception of Tarapacá Viejo, Chile.
The Incas also appropriated and transformed local belief systems and ritual
related to mining. The brilliance of gold and silver was intimately linked to the
vital force of the sun that was embodied by the Inca himself. Large gold nuggets
and pieces of high grade silver were considered mamas or illas that, like
unusually large or uniquely shaped potatoes and maize cobs, were viewed as
embodiments of this fertile power and were venerated in order to increase
productivity. These were sometimes elevated to regional status. Such was the
case in southern Bolivia, where a regional cult centered on the silver mine at
Porco was located. The idol, or huaca, of this mine was a large piece of silver
ore called “Tata Porco,” and it, as well as the mine and the mountain where it
was located, were revered not only for their relationship to the Sun but also to
Illapa, the deity of lightning and warfare.
A number of scholars have suggested that some of the high-altitude Inca
sanctuaries on mountain peaks in the southern Andes were also related to
mining. These shrines were constructed by the Incas as part of their ritual
conquest of the region, one that went hand-in-hand with the appropriation of
material and human resources for imperial use (see Capac Hucha).
Further Reading